1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to internal combustion engines and more particularly to seals for internal combustion engines.
2. Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional internal combustion engine including an engine block and a cylinder head. The engine block has a cylinder bore for receiving a piston. The cylinder head and engine block also include a plurality of coolant holes for conveying a coolant between the engine block and cylinder head and a plurality of bolt holes for receiving bolts to interconnect the cylinder head with the engine block. An aluminum plate is sandwiched between the cylinder head and engine block and has openings which correspond with and are enlarged relative to the cylinder bore and coolant/bolt holes. The engine also includes a cylinder sleeve, which is typically of a harder material than the engine block and which lines the wall of the cylinder bore. The cylinder sleeve has a flange that extends towards the aluminum plate in the gap between the engine block and the cylinder head.
The engine shown in FIG. 1 also includes a plurality of seals for establishing gas and fluid tight seals between the engine block, cylinder head and cylinder sleeve, One of the seals is a rubber coated sheet of metal which is sandwiched between the engine block and the aluminum plate. Another seal is a rubber grommet with a steel core which circumferentially surrounds the coolant/bolt holes. Yet another seal is a combustion seal for sealing the cylinder sleeve to the aluminum plate and to the cylinder head. The combustion seal has an outer armor piece which is bent to be generally C-shaped with an inner opening, a body disposed within the inner opening and a wire ring also disposed within the opening adjacent the ring body.
The rubber coated sheet seal, the rubber grommet with a steel core and the ring shaped seal are all drop in components which must be manually placed in their respective components of the engine during assembly of the engine.